Shoe.



1. CAVANAGH.

SHOE.

Arrucnlnu mio szrr. so. um.

1 ,229,585. v Y Patented June 12,

Q'KM WW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMESCAVANAGH, OF BGSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIDN OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOE.

Application filed September 30, 1914.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

lle 1t known that l, Janes Cavanaon, a citizen of the Innted States, residnig at Boston in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts. havey invented certain Improvements in Shoes. of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings. is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like. parts in ythe several figures.

This invention relates to lthe nninuiaoture of shoes and. has for its object to effect an economy and an i1np1' i\'c1nent. The invention R consists in an improved shoe. In Womens light shoes for indoor' and dress wea r. chiefly but not exclusively turn shoes, there have lbeen used for many years heels having body portions consisting of Woodand covered with leather. These covered heels are produced as a distinct branch of the tradea the wooden body portions being cut to shape and the covering of sheet material be ingy appliedj usually with paste or glue, over the periphery of the heel and lapped inwardly over the seat face of the heel so that no portion of the Wooden body :hall remain exposed which will he visible after the heel has been attached. The usual standard has been to use a covering of lea-ther or other material which will harmonize. with the 1naterial of the shoe vamp and for this purpose kid leather and satin andy other cloths have most commonly been employed. although sheet rubber and Celluloid have been proposed as has also enamel which has been baked on the heel.

This method ofmanufacturing heels in volves a high `labor cost, making this class of heels expensive to the shoe manufacturer who must also make alloi'vanee for the damage of a substantial percentage of finished heels'in the attaching operation. Furthermore, these heels are lacking in durabile y because the coveringr material is easily snsceptible of inju ry and possesses very little, wearing quality when subjected tothe use which the heel of a shoe receives. Also moisture readily softensl the attaching paste or glue and allows the covering to loosen and become detached from the heel body. Rnbber, Celluloid, and enamel covered heels are open to serious objections which will be at once apparent.

These conditions'of high cost and laelref Specification olf Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1917.

serial No. 864,274,

durabilitr ol finish have restricted the. use of wood heels within very narrow limits so that it is estimated that only a small fraction of a per cent. oi the shoes made are provided with wood heels.

(')ne ol' the ll'flJm'llt-ly permanent slandards as to footwear is that the heel and the. vamp shall. appear to consist of material of similar nature. Thus a black shoe is furnished with :L blarlc heel and if the vamp is of enameled leather the heel is polished. while il the ramp has a dull linish the heel is giron a dull surface; tan shoes have tan heels and rubber heels are colored and finished to resemble the apln'fipriate appear ance of a' leather heel for which they are sul)- stituted.

It is the object of my invention to produce a wood heel which shall answer to the above standard as perfectly as heels made entirely of leather can be n'iade to do, and which has the very important eon'unercial advantages of great economy and ashigh a degree of durahilit)Y as is found in leather heels.

A. feature of un. invention is a shoe having a wood heel nitn a peripheral surface pro'd vided with a lilni of earnauba wax forced into the surface of the work by runbing pressure while the Wax in a heated condition. the' wood heel haring a surface appearance harmonir/.ing with lhet of the vamp of the shoe.

connection nithY thel accompanying' drawing: and will then be pointed out in the Figure 1 is a perspective View of'a wood heel 'produced by the Wood Working niaehinery of wood heel manufacturers.

Fi shows the shoe after the heel has been attached and fitted to its shoe and scoured in accordance with this invention.

Fig'. 3 represents the same, shoe after the heel has been stained in accordance with this invention.

The invention will now be described in soy comes from the woodworking machinery of the wood heel manufacturer, see Fig. 1, is provided with a leather toplift 3 and is attached to a shoe 4 in the usual Way by nailing. The heel is then trimmed tothe contour of the shoe, if necessary, to adapt that particular heel to the shoe of which it is to e a part. possible because the heels were covered before being attached in order that the covering could be lapped Vover the upper edge of the heel and its edge hidden between the seat face of the heel and the shoe bottom. After the heel has been attached and is in satisfactoryshape, the heel is scoured, this operation being preferably finished on very line emery cloth or paper as, for example, that designated in the trade as Na 150, until a soft satin-like surface is produced on the wood as in Fig. 2. It isimportant that this surface be secured alike on the sides of the hecl where the surface usually runs with the grain and on the back and breast of the heel where the surface usually runs across the grain. A satisfactory surface having been secured, a stain lis applied in which has been incorporated a material adapted .to unite or bind together the surface fibers of the Wood. A stain answering to these requirements and with which desired results have been obtained includes a coloringingredient, which may be I,either lampolack or a dye such as one of the anilin dyes,'soap and carnauba Wax boiled with a diluent until the Wax has become completely incorporated in the stain. This stain is applied to the satin-like surface of the heel of the shoe, care being taken to obtain such a thorough coating of the heel with the stain i vamp 6 of the shoe shown.

' and heat appear to cause the Wax to be forced as to produce a uniform surface on all parts of the heel when the stain has dried. The stain preferably is allowed t0 dry thoroughly and then the yheel of the shoe, Fig.

3, is subjected, in the presence of heat, to 4rubbing pressure. The heat melts the Wax and the rubbing pressure appears to cause the Wax completely to bind or'unite together the fibers of the surface of the Wood and 'the top lift and to produce av continuous hard even surface capable of taking a surface finish 'which may vary from a dull finish to matchv a dull leather vamp, or a fabric such as that" of the clothquarters 5 of the illustrated shoe, to a high gloss, as indicated in Fig. 4 to match a patent leather' The pressure into the surface of .the heel so as to produce an entirely permanent connection of the wax to the heel. This heating and rubbing treatment is advantageously produced by the use of a heated iron rotatrl in contact with the heei and in practising this invention the best results have been obtained by me from a combined beating and rubbing action This `step has not before beenv which seems to drive the hot wax into the surface with good effect, this action belng produced by an irregular lsurfaced rubbing iron, but ofcourse being capable of being to the luster desired as a brush of long flexible bristles for Ia dull surface to match fabric or mat kid leathers and a soft rag finishing roll to produce a gloss to match enameled leathers. As has been intimated, some of the advantages of the invention may be obtained by applying all of the wax at one time either with the stain or While the Wood heel is being subjected to the action of heat and rubbing pressure. I prefer, however, to apply a moderate amount of wax incorporated in the stain and te apply additional wax during the heat treatment.

My invention has amongothers the followingv advantages: The heels can be taken Y vfrom the heel manufacturer in the condi- -tion in which they came from the Wood Working machinery, that is, at the stage at which they represent their minimum value, and attached directly to the shoe. Thus, if the heel is damaged by splitting or otherwise before it is ready to finish it represents the minimum loss. After attachment to the shoe the heel can be shaped to it Withvprecision; can be scoured and in all respects finished with relation to the other portions of the particular shoe 0f=which it is to be a part, and this Work can be done under the shoe manufacturers directions instead of being` done in the heel factory and the heel to the shoe before the heel is scoured, itis within my invention, in its broader aspects, to defer attaching the heel until one or all of the stepsin the nishing operation have been performed.

The finish produced on my novel wood heels is entirely durable, being substantially unaffected by moisture. One of the exceedingly important characteristics of these heels is that they have all the desirable features and appearance of leather heels. It will be plain that theirappearance can be restored by treatment similar to that given the leather vamp by the hand of a bootblack.

While I have described the application of carnauba wax as made first in the strain and again during the treating of the wood heel with heat and pressure, the heel of my invention may be produced by applying the carnauba wax atone time only, either with the stain alone or afterthe application of the stain. While the time at which the wax is applied to the Wood heel admits of variareproduced whenever the heel requires clean-V ing during the wear of the shoe. The cost of finishing wood heels in accordance with this invention is less than onc-qluarter that y Se t. 25, 1915. 4, aving explained this invention and de`. known to me to.

of"cover1ng1,r wood heels and is ow enough to make .very profitable the substitution of the heel produced in accordance with this invention in place of leather heels.

The novel process of manufacturing shoes disclosed herein forms thesubject-matter of my divisional case, Serial No. 52,645, filed scribed the best way now l produce my improved shoe heel, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States gi 1. In a shoe, a h "l constructed ofiwood the peripheral surface of which has been provided with a film coating of carnauba ,by the crossgrained wax so finished that its appearance harmonizes with that ofthe vamp of the shoe.

2. A shoe heel made of stained Wood, the peripheral surface of saidheel on its sides and rear end being satin-like and having the surface fibers bound down by a coating or carnauba waxburnished so that the wood has a surface appearance harmonizing with that of a Yleather shoe vamp. Y

3. In ashoe a wood heel having a peripheral surface coated with a film of wax forced into the surface of the wood by rub-v hing pressure in the presence of heat, whereportions of the peripheral surface are rendered identical in appearance with the straight-grained portions.

4. In a leather shoe, a wood heel provided with a leather top lift, the peripheral surface of said heel and top lift havmg a satinlike surface coated with a film of carnauba wax whereby the periphery of the top lift and the cross-grained and strai ht-grained portions of the peripheral sur aceA of the wooden heel arev rendered identical in appearance"with one another and with the 'vamp of the shoe.

Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing'witnesses.

i JAMES CAVANAGH.

Witnesses:

' ARTHUR L. RUSSELL,

HAnLow M. Davis.

copies oi this patent my be obtained tot Ive cents each, by addressing the commissioner o! Patents,

' Washington, D. 0." 

